


I Betcha You Would Have Done The Same

by lyfthemuffinmoth



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Asexual Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Elias Bouchard has one braincell and it's Rosie, F/F, In which i hurt my kins, Look I just think they make a rad couple okay, M/M, No beta we kayak like Tim, Nonbinary Original Elias Bouchard, Other, Pansexual Original Elias Bouchard, Rosie is s o passive agressive, The Magnus Archives Season 5, because we keep forgetting this for some reason, for some reason, like a lot, look im not english okay i know i write weird, not important to the story but important to me, she feeds off office gossip, slight beholding!Rosie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26134111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyfthemuffinmoth/pseuds/lyfthemuffinmoth
Summary: When Elias finally gains control over his body again after years, he immediatly goes to find allies so he can get some payback for the man who inhabited his body for so long. Turns out a terrible fileclerk, an agressive receptionist, an all powerful archivist, a clever ex-cop and someone who just really wants to punch Jonah Magnus in the face make a very good team.(Alternatively Titled: Elias Bouchard Saves The World But No Actually His Girlfriend Does)
Relationships: Basira Hussain/Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Original Elias Bouchard & Everyone, Original Elias Bouchard/Rosie
Comments: 28
Kudos: 52





	1. Good Morning, Elias

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy!! This idea has been messing with my head so enjoy
> 
> Title from Cell Block Tango from Chicago

Elias felt the pressure being relieved on him. It felt weird. It was a relief, but was it really? It just felt so weird to have it not there after so many years. But no, he’d served his purpose, hadn’t he? Now Jonah could just get rid of him.

Elias let out a gasp of air, feeling himself almost stumble forward. He landed on dirt ground and looked around him. He saw trees everywhere. Forest? Except no, Elias liked forests. They smelled nice and they were calm and comforting. This forest made him feel like he shadow was about to attack him any minute. 

Which was why it was perfectly reasonable that he let out a very manly shriek when he heard someone pass along the trees. He squinted his eyes at where the sound came from. Long blonde hair tied up in a messy bun. Roughed up jeans and tank top. Cracked circular glasses. It couldn’t be… Could it?

He started making his way over, but he only got two steps before he heard a gunshot behind him. And then felt it. He let out yet another ultra manly cry and then fell to the floor. Footsteps faded again. Seemed like whoever had shot him was happy with it as it was. 

Elias reached for his leg, where he’d been hit. Oh- Oh fuck that was a lot of blood. That wasn’t good. Was it? No, no it really wasn’t.

He took a deep breath and then tried to remember the first aid lessons she’d given him.

_“Put pressure on it to stop the bleeding, keep it away from dirt to avoid infection and call an ambulance next time, Eli, Jesus Christ.”_

Well... They weren’t really a lesson but he ran with it. 

_Put pressure on it. Keep it away from dirt. Put pressure on it. Keep it away from dirt. Put pressure on it. Keep it away from dirt. Eli, Jesus Christ_

Elias repeated her words in his head to ground himself. She had to be somewhere right? The world was thoroughly fucked up, but at least it wouldn’t let anyone die. Because if everyone died, who would be there to be scared?

Elias felt his sight flicker. Black spots. Are black spots good? Sometimes black spots are nice. Black spots can be an adventure. But not this time. Not this time. This time they were bad. Elias knew that much. 

He let himself fall back and eventually shut his eyes. Maybe the black spots were nice after all.

* * *

Rosie aggressively slapped Elias on his cheek. She deserved it. And she had wanted to for a long time. 

She’d patched up Elias’s leg best she could with straps of torn fabric. She still despised the man who had hurt and supposedly murdered the person she loved, but she couldn’t give up hope that Elias - _her_ Elias - was still in there somewhere. So she took care of his wound. So he wouldn’t die. Didn’t mean she had to be nice to him though.

She watched Elias’s eyebrows move a little before he opened his eyes. “What the-” the muttered sitting up. Rosie sat against a tree in a corner to him, legs and arms crossed as she stared daggers at him. “Glad you’ve finally decided to grace us with your presence.”

Elias scoffed. “Yeah, well I’m so so sorry for getting shot in the- Rose?” He looked her into her eyes. “Holy fuck, Rosie- Is that- Are you- Is it really you?”

That caught Rosie off guard. Everything about Elias. It sounded like… like Elias. The real Elias. Not Jonah, just _him_. Her breath hitched in her throat and she fought the urge to run over and wrap her arms around him.

“That’s not funny, _Jonah_. Down right insensitive, if you’d ask me.”

“Rose. I’m not- I’m not him. I promise, it’s just me.”

Rosie scoffed. “Yeah right. Prove it then.” she said. “I can’t trust anything here anymore, so why would the world give me some good luck now?”

“Ehm- How? How do you want me to prove it? Like-”

Elias’s voice went a little softer as he muttered under his breath. “What do they do in movies again… Erm… What’s only something you would know? Right? Right.”

He raised his voice again. “So you need me to tell you something only I would know. Right?”

Rosie studied his movements. It was so hard to believe that this really was him and she wasn’t ready to get her hopes up just yet. Not again anyways.

She nodded. 

“Alright.” Elias said, thinking. “For our one year anniversary, you got me roses and I said that you didn’t have to give me any because I already had the most beautiful Rose I could want. And then you shoved me playfully for being cheesy and I tripped and cut my hand and we had to go to A&E.”

Rosie’s breath hitched. She then practically lunged himself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You fucking idiot.” she said, her talking a little choked. “Do you have any idea how much you made me worry, honey?”

Rosie felt arms around her waist in return. “I’m sorry I made you wait.” he muttered into her messy blonde locks. 

She let out a choked laugh. “Damn right you are.” she said. 

They stayed there for a long time, just holding each other close. They were both crying, but weren’t going to address it. Why ruin the moment? Right now they could forget about how fucked up the world was and how fucked up their problems were and just focus on eachother. 

Eventually, it was Rosie who broke the spell. She sat up and ran her thumbs over his cheeks with an ever so relieved smile. 

She slowly stood up. She brushed her own tears away with her arms before holding a hand down for Elias and then helping him up. 

“Can you stand? With the leg and all.” She questioned gently. 

He nodded slightly. “Yeah- Yeah I think I’m alright.” he said. “Just… Need something - or someone I guess - to lean on.”

She smiled. “Well, you’re welcome I suppose.” she said.

She glanced back at Elias, holding his hand tightly in hers. “Do you- Do you want to talk about it?” she questioned. 

He took a deep breath and sighed, shaking his head. “E- Eventually just… not now, not yet.” He looked so tired and Rosie gently squeezed his hand upon spotting it. “Right now just- Gotta focus on the now, right? The Doomsday thing and all.”

Rosie couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “Right. Priorities, of course.” she said, smiling back at him. She looked around.

“Well. This is the domain of the Hunt.” She paused. “You do know about the fears, right?” she then asked. 

Elias nodded. “Kind of? Like, I know the basics, but I gotta admit, I didn’t really pay that much attention.” he said.

Rosie nodded. “Okay. Alright. Basics is good enough for now.” she stated , before continuing to explain. “So this is the Hunt’s domain. Fear of being chased, being prey, being…. Well, being Hunted.” she said. 

Elias couldn’t help but snort at that.

“Everyone in here is either Hunter or Prey. Since _you_ were new in here, _you_ were seen as Prey and ergo you got shot.” She then finished.

Elias looked back at her. “And what are you, Rose? Hunter or Prey?” he questioned.

Rosie paused. “I- Hunter I- I think.” she said. She took a deep breath and looked back at him. “Do you think you can walk? It’s dangerous to stay in one place and you’ve got blood all over you.”

Elias carefully took a step forward, heavily leaning on Rosie. “Not great but good enough.” he concluded.

Rosie took a deep breath and gently squeezed his hand. “Good enough it is.” she said softly as they started to walk through the woods.

* * *

Elias was pretty much exhausted. As relieved and overjoyed he is to see Rosie again and actually be able to talk to her, the whole apocalypse thing is kind of a mood killer. 

After a while of walking, Elias started to hear voices. He kept walking, but Rosie gently grabbed his arm, stopping him. She put her finger on her lips to signal for him to be quiet. Luckily, Elias took the hint and went very silent, only the sound of their breathing there.

Rosie took his hand to comfort him and then closed her eyes.

Elias thought it was rather weird. Why did she close her eyes if this was the domain where you had to be super alert all the time? It confused him.

Eventually he realised what she was doing. Listening to the voices. He decided to join her, but did keep his eyes open. Sure, Rosie was definitely the competent one in the relationship, but Elias was still very careful and protective. Even if he was a dumbass™.

Elias couldn’t make out the words or the voices very great, so instead he just focused on if they were getting louder or not. That was a smart move too right? Elias thought so. He hoped Rosie thought so too.

As far as Elias could tell, the noises were staying fairly distant. That was good. Yeah. That was good.

Elias was good at telling the distance by somebody’s volume. He’d done it all the time when he was still sneaking around in the Institute, when his only concern was not getting fired for his oh so many dress code violations.

_Elias could hear distant voices in the hall. He was very good at sneaking around the Institute and the gossip with Rosie about all the stuff he’d learned. It almost seemed to vitalise her a little bit. Weird. Not that the whole Institute wasn’t weird. It investigated the paranormal after all._   
_  
_ If Elias was being honest with himself, he kind of liked the weird on Rosie. It was cute. He’d always had a crush on her, though he’d never admit it. How long was it till valentines? He didn’t really care. All he knew was that it was a long time so he could procrastinate it all he wanted.

_Elias climbed out of the small broom closet he totally hadn’t been using to spy on his co-workers. Of course not, that would be weird. So he wasn’t. And therefore you were seeing things if you told Mr. Wright that he had been eavesdropping on his co-workers for Rosie. Because he wouldn’t do that. That was such a ridiculous thought._

_After brushing most of the cobwebs out of his neon green hair, Elias headed over to Rosie in HR. When he saw her gathering her things he almost panicked. He made his way over. “Oh shit, Rose, you got fired? Or you quit? The hell happened?”_

_Rosie just chuckled a little. It was a sweet chuckle and she would always close her eyes at it. It always made Elias smile, but not this time._

_Rosie shook her head. “No no no, don’t worry, Eli.” she said, smiling at him. “Quite the opposite, actually.” She gestured to the small name tag pinned on her white button up._

_Elias started reading it out loud. “Rosie Patterson, receptionist and assistant to James Wright- Holy shit, Rose, that’s awesome!” he said with a grin on his face. She smiled back at him. “Yeah, told you so, silly.” she teased._

_He nudged her slightly before starting to help pack her stuff. Maybe, just maybe, he didn’t want to wait until Valentine’s day._

Elias took a deep breath. Happy memories were nice to ground you, but did make your heart hurt when you knew stuff couldn’t be that simple anymore. Rosie squeezed his hand a little and then made eye contact with him. She carefully gestured to the sounds, which had gotten closer. So much for paying attention.

Then, Elias recognised the voices.

Basira and Martin and _Jon_.

Oh good, being spotted by either of those three was not going to end well for Elias, he already knew that. 

They had a conversation about proving identity and Elias thought they were just about to move on when Jon froze. He stopped walking and gestured for Basira and Martin to do the same. Martin did so quite quickly, but Basira hesitated, keeping the gun off the safety. Elias supposed that was fair.

He looked back to Rosie as if to ask her what to do but she just kept the finger on her lips and stayed dead silent. It sure was impressive, but Elias really didn’t have to linger on it.

Eventually Jon’s voice sounded. He sounded fairly annoyed and honestly just so tired. Elias didn’t blame him. Being the catalyst to the literal apocalypse… Well, that can’t be good for your mental health. 

“Alright. You can come out now.”

Rosie shared a look with Elias before letting a soft breath. “Alright, alright, we’re coming.” she said. She still held Elias’s hand as she guided him through the trees, supporting him as they made their way towards the three other people.

“Just- Not shooting us would be appreciated. From like… Everyone.”

Martin and Basira shared a confused look.

“Is that…?” Martin muttered, glancing at Jon.

Jon just sighed.

“Yup. That’s Rosie. And I think she’s brought a guest.”


	2. Statement of Rosie Patterson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey hey!! just like heads up I'm very bad at posting schedules but ill try to update as often as i can :)))
> 
> Also!! thank you so very much to all the funky folks who commented on chapter one it really made my day and helped me write this out quicker than i would usually be able to :))

Elias didn't like being punched in the face. 

It wasn't a very pleasant feeling all things considered and he hadn't even earned it. Wasn't his fault that some old Victorian dude decided to possess him.

So yes of course Elias staggered back as Martin hit him square in the jaw. 

“Holy shit- Eli, are you good?” Rosie asked, moving to help him up.

Elias groaned. “I’m fine Rose. Not like I didn't see that coming.”

Rosie scoffed. “Yeah well, doesn't mean you deserved it.” she said as she pulled him to his feet.

He sighed and looked at the three very angry faces looking at him. 

Rosie took a breath. “Should I…?”

Elias nodded.

Rosie turned to the three in front of her. “Hi right so. You're probably confused because our friend Elias here isn't being a smug asshole.” she started to explain.

Jon ran a hand through his grey streaked hair. “It really doesn't matter. Rosie, step aside. You don't know who that is, what this is.”

And then Rosie started laughing. Actual full on laughing. “Oh really? Really Mr. Spooky Eye Archivist?  _ I'm _ the one who doesn't know what's going on. Good joke, good joke, yes I needed that.” she said.

Jon just looked confused. “Rosie, I'm serious.”

“Oh yes, so serious like when you refused to believe that any of this mess was real. Honestly, I thought it was funny at first but it just became annoying. ‘ _ Oh what's this a spooky corruption worm lady??? No not supernatural that's absurd.’ _ .”

“Rosie, what on earth are you talking about?”

“Unlike you, I'm not an idiot, Jon. Do you really think I didn't know all the fucked up things that went on in the archives? I was the assistant of that asshole Jonah  _ fucking _ Magnus for years, I caught on alright. Much earlier than any of you did I might add.”

“Don't get me wrong but- you sound like you hate El- Jonah.” Martin piped in.

Rosie let out a laugh. “Yeah sure as hell do, Marto.” she said.

“Then why are you helping him…?”

“I was getting to that, before I was oh so rudely interrupted.” 

Basira laughed a little.

“Martin, Basira, Jon, meet Elias Bouchard. The real one.”

Elias gave a small wave as he kept leaning against Rosie.

Jon looked puzzled. “I'm sorry what? What do you mean, 'the real one'?”

“What I mean,  _ Jon _ , is that this is the person that existed before Jonah Magnus decided to commit some body snatching.”

That caught them off guard, or at least so it seemed. 

“So what does that mean?” Jon eventually questioned. “Is Jonah… dead?”

Elias let out a humourless laugh. “If only.” 

He felt Rosie squeeze his hand. 

“He just dumped me here in the Hunt’s domain, I doubt he really cares what happens to me now.”

Basira didn’t lower her gun. “Right. How do we know you’re not lying?” she questioned.

Rosie sighed loudly. “Just have Jon ask us, I’m sure we’ll speak the truth then.”

Jon took a deep breath. “Alright then.”

**_“Tell me about Elias.”_ **

* * *

Rosie didn’t know what overcame her. Well, that wasn’t true. She knew the compulsion, she’d just never been submitted to it that heavily. Not by the Archivist.

So the words just… spilled out.

“Elias and I. We’ve always been close. Became friends the minute both of us started working at the Institute. Balanced each other out, I suppose. I was always the more responsible one and the one to usually keep him out of trouble, and he’d make sure work days were anything but boring in return.

“Years passed and friendship grew into something more. We started dating and well… everything was great for a while. Of course, knowing our luck, it didn't last. 

“Elias… He got a promotion. Head of the Institute. I was so proud and happy for him and then one day he just… changed. He was being so cold and smug and he talked all wrong. 

“I tried to talk to him about it, but he just said he was fine. That he'd just 'grown up'. I didn't buy it. No one grew up that fast. 

“So I tried talking to other people about it, but no one really cared. Either they didn't know him as well as I did, or they were happy with his new attitude. 

“So I did some digging on my own. Tried to figure out what the fuck was going on with the person I loved. Took me a while, but I stumbled upon the tunnels. It was an accident, really. Happy accident though. 

“I- I found Leitner and he explained just about everything. Old man was,,, well, an old man, so I just let him stay there. He wasn't doing any harm anyways. 

“So I confronted El- Jonah about it. He just laughed at me. Mocking me and Elias. Didn't really like that so I eh- kinda- hit him in the jaw. Hard. Probably bruised my hand. No scratch that, I definitely did. 

“He didn't really like that so much. He- I don't know what to call it, but he just… put emotions and feelings into my brain. Let me know the- the pain Eli felt when Jonah- when Jonah happened. 

“It was awful, like- like my head split in two. My eyes hurt so bad and it all felt so wrong and violating and it  _ hurt. _

“I didn't show up to work for a week. Obviously. Eventually I did of course. I knew leaving the Institute would make me sick, Leitner said so, but I figured I deserved a week off. 

“And so I showed up after a week, determined to make that smug asshole miserable.

“I scheduled his meetings at the worst times, used the most indicernable handwriting, ruined his stupid marriages. I was just  _ so _ done with him. 

“And then he went to jail. Visited once, just for the ego, but then realised I couldn’t stand seeing Eli in that position and left. Didn’t come back again. Couldn’t bring myself to.

“Was resigned to just receptionist duty when Lukas took over. Martin took the assistant role and I can’t say I envied him. The entire Institute drenched in that cold fog. I knew better than to get involved. So I kept my distance. As always. 

“Still had to feed the almighty fear power or whatever. What was it again? ‘Feed your god or it feeds on you’. Either way, I just kept it satisfied the way I always have. Just bits of gossip I picked up here and there. Sure, harder to come by with Eli gone, but I still got more than enough. 

“Gossip and rumours fall under the Eye as well, I suppose. What are they other than just secrets about you being exposed? Everyone Knowing your actions?

“I’m not sure what happened with you all, but next thing I knew the Institute was crawling with police. I left as far I could. Again, just staying distant. Suppose I’m really good at that.”

She scoffed

“Then… I don’t know what, but something happened. It was like- I blinked and the world was different. It was like someone shined a permanent blacklight on it and everything was wrong. I tried to figure out what the fuck was going on, but once I took a single step everything just…. changed again.

“Suddenly I was here and I realised Jonah's plan had worked. Eventually I heard a gunshot and a familiar voice, found Elias, wrapped up his leg and then we saw you here. 

“As far as my concerns for now go. I just want to hit that smug asshole as much as any of you, maybe more if I'm being honest. He hurt me and he hurt my partner and I'm so done with his bullshit.” 

Rosie paused. She then realized what had happened and full on punched Jon right in his jaw. “Asshole.” she hissed before backing off to support Elias. 

Jon took a step back due to the sudden force and rubbed his jaw. “You know what? I deserved that.” he muttered. 

Rosie scoffed. “Damn right you did,  _ Archivist _ .” She added, spitting out the word Archivist like it was disgusting. “You had  _ no  _ right.” 

Elias gently squeezed her hand. “Rose. It's alright. Deep breaths.” 

Rosie let that hand ground her. Focused on it. 

“I'm- I'm really sorry you had to go through all that.” 

“It's not your fault, Eli. It's Jonah's.”

“But if I had just-” 

“No no no, no buts, this isn't your fault.” 

“Ro-” 

She stood to her tiptoes and kissed the other to shut him up. “I said it's not your fault.” she said, lowering herself again. 

Elias sighed, seemingly relaxing. “Right.” he muttered. 

Rosie turned back to the other three. 

“So. Is there a plan we should know about?” she questioned.

Martin looked at Jon and Basira before sighing. “Jon and I have been traveling towards the Panopticon, go after E- Jonah.” he said.

Rosie nodded. “Sounds great to me.” she stated with a grin on her face.

And so they walked back to Basira’s camp, Basira up front, Jon and Martin behind her with their hands linked and Elias and Rosie behind them, Elias still leaning very heavily on Rosie. 

“We probably need to talk, right? Like- Like catch up and stuff?” Elias questioned after a while, breaking the silence.

Rosie let out a small laugh. “Yeah, understatement much, but that sounds like a good idea.”

As they approached the camp, the two walked closer and closer to each other until eventually sitting down almost on top of each other.

Rosie took a deep breath and began to talk.

* * *

Martin sat down on a log next to him at Basira's camp.

“So. How are you taking this, Jon?” he questioned gently.

Jon sighed, leaning against Martin's shoulder. “Honestly, I don't care anymore. Might as well add a traumatised receptionist and her formerly possessed partner to the party.” he said.

Martin chuckled as he gently ran his fingers through Jon's wavy grey-streaked locks. “The more the merrier, right?” he commented with a sigh.

Jon leaned into the touch. “Yeah, sure thing.” he muttered. He then paused as if he felt something wrong. 

“Martin… are you bleeding?” he questioned.

Martin bit his lip. “I’ll be fine, Jon.” he said softly. 

Jon sat up and looked Martin over. “Oh my- Martin, you should've said something-” he muttered, looking around for something to bandage his boyfriend with. 

Martin sighed. “Jon, it's just a small cut, I'll be fine.” 

Jon sighed. “Martin.” he said, carefully cleaning the small cut on his throat. “I'm here to help you. So let me.” 

Martin sighed. “Yeah. Yeah you're right, I'm sorry.” 

Jon carefully finished cleaning the cut and then smiled up at Martin. “It's alright, Martin. Just remember that I'm here for you.”  _ Just remember that you're not alone. _ Jon didn’t say the words but he didn’t have to.

Martin gently ran his finger over the scar on Jon’s neck.

Jon laughed. “I guess we match now.” he stated. 

Martin laughed, leaning against him. “Guess so.” he said softly. 

Jon leaned up and kissed Martin on his cheek. “What about you then? How are you dealing with all this?”

Martin thought about that for a moment. “Honestly? It’s weird, but I’m not even surprised. Like, hell, I hadn’t expected Rosie to be this badass lady with a big grudge and I certainly have to get used to Elias being like… well like Elias, but there’s not a lot of things that are unbelievable anymore.”

Jon smiled. “You make a fair point.”

“I try.”

They both chuckled as they let their eyes fall on Rosie and Elias, who were sitting at the other side of the camp, leaning against each other, seemingly talking about something to each other while keeping no mind to either of their personal space.

“We both agree that is weird, right?” Martin said.

Jon linked his fingers with Martin’s, smiling back at him.

  
  
“Oh yeah. Definitely weird.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you oh so very much for reading!!! 
> 
> please leave me some comments and kudos as they fuel my motivation for continuing this :))
> 
> love you all and stay safe <333


	3. Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey!! as ive mentioned before im bad with consistant uploading, so im sorry this is a little late. its also a little shorter than i want it to be, but i couldnt really figure out a way to extend it, so ill try to make the next one a little longer
> 
> ( also peep those new tags :))) )

Rosie woke up with a small yawn. She stirred a little and yawned. Once she realized that Elias was leaning against her, she let out a small laugh. She gently nudged him. “Eli-” she whispered. “Wake up.”

Elias furrowed his eyebrows a little. “Mmm five more minutes-” he said with a small groan. 

Rosie chuckled. “We don't have five more minutes, babe.” she said, nudging him again. 

He slowly blinked his eyes open. “Mmm are you sure, Rose?” 

Rosie smiled. “Yes, I'm sure.” she said. She pressed a gentle kiss to his temple. “Goodmorning.”

“G’morning.” he said with a sigh. 

Rosie sat up and looked around her. Jon and Martin seemed to be asleep. Or at least, Martin was. Jon didn't seem to be asleep. He didn't seem to have moved at all since Rosie and Elias had passed out.

Basira also was awake, apparently. She was pacing over the spot they were resting in. Once she realized they were both awake, she gave them a short look over and returned to her pacing. 

Elias sat up, but remained leaning against Rosie. He looked at Jon. “Is he still sleeping?” he questioned, gesturing to Martin. 

Jon nodded. “Yeah- He seems to actually have a nightmare free sleep for once, so I didn't want to wake him up.”

Rosie drummed her fingers on her knee. “Do you sleep? Like at all?” 

Jon shook his head. “No. Don't need to, I think.” 

Basira walked over and sat down in the space between Rosie and Jon. 

“Alright. You-” she looked at Jon. “-need to answer some questions.”

Jon sighed. “Yeah- Give me a second.” he said. 

He gently nudged Martin, who soon woke up. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. Jon handed him his glasses and he slipped them onto his face. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked to the group in front of them. It seemed very routine in the way that they did it. Oddly domestic in the middle of the apocalypse. 

“Alright. Ask away.” Jon told Basira. 

Basira took a breath. “All of this- Did you cause it?” 

“Jon-” Martin started. 

“Yes. I did.” 

Basira let out a frustrated sigh. 

“Jon, it wasn't your fault-” 

Elias joined in. “He's right. It wasn't your fault, Jon.”

Basira looked at Elias. “Explain.”

“Jonah- He hid the ritual chant in a statement. Jon couldn't stop reading. It's not his fault, it's Jonah's.”

Basira furrowed her eyebrows. “I thought the rituals didn't work.” 

Rosie took a breath. “Not on their own. Jonah made it so that all the entities would be brought into the world, but the Eye still be superior.”

Martin turned his attention to Rosie. “Hold on- How do you know all this?” 

“Because I put it together. I mean, all the avatars want a ritual eventually. And I noticed the Marking, so I figured.” 

“Why didn't you say anything?” Basira questioned. 

“Because I'm not stupid enough to get involved.” She scoffed. “Although I suppose that didn't do much good.”

Jon sighed. “Suppose there's not much we can do about it now.”

Martin sighed. “You don't know that, Jon. Maybe we can turn it back. We can figure it out when we get to Jonah.”

Rosie exchanged a look with Jon. They both knew it was near impossible to turn the world back. Maybe if they burned down the Archives or ended Jonah, but even then, Rosie wasn't sure. 

Basira glanced at them both. If she understood the meaning of their look, she didn't mention it. 

“Right.” Elias mumbled. 

Rosie gently squeezed his hand. 

Basira looked back at Jon. “You said you can see everything now. Can you see Daisy?” 

Jon sighed. “I-I guess.” His eyes flashed emerald for a second. “She's-She's close.”

Martin looked up at Jon. “But?” he questioned.

“She’s- She doesn’t really have control anymore. The Hunt- It’s strong. Too strong.”

Basira sighed. “But you know where she is.”

Jon nodded.

“Let’s go then.”

* * *

Martin sighed to himself as he walked with the rest of the group. “How close are we?” he questioned. He was walking next to Jon, with Basira right in front of them. Rosie and Elias were trailing behind them, doing god knows what. Martin honestly didn’t care. He was nervous enough already, being in the domain of the Hunt. He didn’t need something else to worry about as well.

“Close. Couple hundred meters maybe?”

Martin nodded. “Alright.” he mumbled.

Jon looked up at him, noticing his nervous demeanor and squeezed his hand gently. Martin smiled back at him. “So what do we do when we reach her?”

“I shoot her.”

Martin looked at Basira and then back at Jon. He sighed, trying not to think about what could go wrong. That never worked. So, bad idea. Stay optimistic. Think happy thoughts, Martin.

Jon’s eyes flashed again. “Hold on-” he said. “We’re getting closer.”

Basira paused. 

“She’s picked up our scent.” Jon said, his voice quieting down.

Martin tensed at the sound of rustling in the forest around them. 

“Everyone stay calm.” Jon said in a cool voice as he kept his fingers locked tightly with Martin’s.

Martin took a deep breath and looked back at the source of the noise where a wolf came walking out of the forest. She looked over all of them, maybe trying to decide which one was the easiest prey. 

Her gaze landed on Martin.

Martin tensed and nervously squeezed Jon’s hand. He took a breath and looked back at Daisy. 

“Basira?” Martin said, trying his best to keep his voice from shaking. “Whatever you’re going to do, please do it now.”

Daisy took another step forward, her predatory stare focusing intently on him. 

“Basira.” Jon said, something stern in his voice. Martin could tell he was nervous as well, but he wasn't sure the rest could. 

The minute Basira even moved to stretch out her arm for the gun, Daisy lunged at him. 

He felt a hand grab onto his wrist and pull. Martin panted heavily, looking up at the person who'd pulled him away. 

Elias's eyes were fairly wide, but he seemed satisfied with what he'd done anyways. “Are you good?” he questioned. Martin nodded and looked back to Daisy. 

Rosie seemed to have grabbed her attention now. If the former receptionist was scared, she didn't show it. 

Daisy growled at her and Rosie took a breath. “Hi there, Daisy.” she said. “It's me Rosie and I would prefer it if you didn't try to kill me maybe.” 

Daisy made a sound that sounded almost like scoffing. 

“Rosie. Be careful.” Martin said. He looked back at Daisy and then back at Rosie. 

Rosie nodded. “I am, Martin. Don't worry.” She looked up. “Basira?”

Basira held out her gun aimed at Daisy. Martin could tell that her hands were shaking. 

“Basira.” Jon said.

She took a deep breath and placed her shaky finger on the trigger, not pulling it yet.

_ “Basira.” _

Basira let out a frustrated sigh as she let down the gun. “I can’t-” she said, letting out a breath. “I can’t.”

“Alright.” Elias spoke up. “So what now? I doubt she’s gonna let us leave.”

Daisy let out a low growl at Rosie.

“Rose-” Elias spoke up. 

Rosie nodded. “I know, I know.” she said, taking a careful step backwards. Apparently that set off Daisy as she leaped at Rosie. Elias let out a gasp before quickly pushing Rosie out of the way. 

Daisy missed her, but the shove did cause her to fall. “There- Now- Calm down, Daisy.” Rosie said, starting to stumble backwards.

Then, Martin saw a rock fly through the air and hit Daisy from the back. He turned to Jon, whose arm was still outstretched. 

Martin let out a startled noise. “Jon, what on ear-”

He stopped when Daisy turned around and growled at Jon. She took a few steps towards him. 

Martin locked eyes with Jon.

“Jon. No.”

“Martin. I-”

“No.”

Martin looked back at Daisy who was nearing them, her eyes still focused on Jon.

When she paused, probably to get ready to jump, Martin took a deep breath. He looked Jon in the eyes and mouthed an ‘I’m sorry’, before quite roughly shoving him out of the way. He didn’t have time to look back at Daisy before her claws landed in his skin.

Martin had been hurt in the past. He wasn’t the most practical person and had his fair share of tripping and slipping and falling, but this. This was different. He let out a scream that he wasn’t proud of, but was perfectly reasonable in his eyes. 

Things got a little blurry then. He was vaguely aware of the fur on top of him slowly fading to fabric. The weight being lifted off of him. Gentle hands covering the red stains on his skin with soft cursing whispers.

Martin didn’t really recall a lot of it.

When he eventually came to, he found his head leaning on something soft and his legs laying on the cold ground. He blinked a few times and looked up. The minute he opened his eyes, the person he was laying against let out a relieved sigh. “Oh thank god.”

Martin let out a small groan. “What-” he muttered.

Jon looked back at Martin. “What the hell was that? You could’ve died, Martin.”

“You were planning on you dying, Jon. I feel like you can’t lecture me on this.”

Jon sighed and carefully took Martin’s hand. “Just- Please don’t do that again, Martin, you scared the shit out of me.” he said softly.

Martin looked back up at Jon.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“So how are you feeling?”

Martin slowly got himself to sit up. “Not great.”

Jon kept his hand safely in Martin’s. “I hadn’t really expected otherwise.” he commented.

Martin blinked a little. “What happened? I can’t- I don’t remember clearly.”

“Well, after Daisy jumped, she transformed back. Apparently she fed her God enough and went back to looking like Daisy. Basira talked to her and tried to keep her from getting back into her Hunt state while Rosie and I checked your injuries.

“She’s over there now, with Basira, Rosie and Elias.” Jon said, gesturing towards their general place. 

Martin nodded. “Mhm- Do you have my glasses>” he questioned.

Jon quickly picked up the round spectacles and handed them to Martin. “Here you go.”

Martin carefully slipped them on. “Thanks, Jon.” he said. He leaned a little against him as he turned his attention to the group of four a little further away from them.

“Quite the eventful day, huh?” Martin commented.

Jon laughed. “Yeah. You could say that.” he said, running his thumb over the back of Martin’s hand. “Please don’t get yourself hurt like that again though.”

Martin sighed. “Yeah, I won’t Jon.” he said. “Promise.”

Jon raised an eyebrow at him. “A promise? Alright I’m holding you to that.”

Martin snorted. “Alright then.”

Jon gently kissed Martin on his cheek. “You should get some rest, Martin.” he said. 

Martin hummed a little as he closed his eyes, leaning against Jon.

“Mmmmm- Wake me up later, kay?”

Jon let out a soft chuckle and pressed a kiss into Martin’s messy curls.

“Will do.”

“G’night, Jon.”

“Night, Martin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading!!  
> as always, kudos and comments make my day so please leave some :))
> 
> love you all and stay safe <333

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you liked it!!  
> Comments and kudos make my day so I would really appreciate them.
> 
> Love y'all and stay safe :)))


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